Volunteer Callers to conduct phone surveys and interviews with older people

What will you be doing?

We're looking for people who are good on the phone and can put people at ease as they conduct surveys and interviews to support our evaluation work. Those best suited to the role are likely to be: - people with plenty of experience in social work or other caring professions; you'll be comfortable talking to people who may be feeling low and at ease asking them questions about their experiences and how they're feeling - people with professional research or evaluation experience; you'll be used to conducting surveys and familiar with handling people's data/responses securely and accurately - people with training and experience in interviewing people; you'll be accustomed to speaking to new people all the time and know how to build rapport and ensure that people feel comfortable speaking to you. We are particularly interested to hear from you if you have experience or an interest in understanding loneliness for older people, its causes and how to alleviate it, but that is not essential. The role asks you to give around two hours each week (or eight to 10 hours per month). You will spend most of your time surveying older people on the phone and gathering their responses. Other tasks could include: compiling and inputting data from written surveys into online forms; conducting in-depth interviews with people over the phone.  You'll be speaking to volunteers and older people; our calls with older people often include asking questions about their wellbeing, so we are looking for excellent communicators with a friendly and empathetic approach, who feel confident about speaking to new people over the phone. Attention to detail and accuracy are essential.  This is a flexible and remote voluntary role that can be carried out from home. Please note that we are unable to cover call costs; volunteers typically use the minutes included in their telephone contracts. 

What are we looking for?

Excellent communication skills. Enthusiasm for speaking to new people on the phone. Available for two hours or more per week. Good administrative skills and IT literacy. Have their own computer and internet connection. Have an eye for detail and accuracy. A friendly, empathetic approach. The ability to listen to answers and record them appropriately. Patience and understanding. A background in research and/or caring professions would be very helpful.  A passion for improving the lives of lonely and isolated older people.

What difference will you make?

"I feel excited to make a difference! It will be a privilege to speak to older people and learn from their insight and feedback about how Re-engage helps to relieve loneliness and isolation" - our first impact volunteer, Jen. The impact team works with colleagues across the organisation to help monitor the success of our programmes, such as call companions and our tea parties. Evaluation helps us to understand how and why the organisation is making a difference. Our mission is to help end social isolation and loneliness in older people, and as part of that, one of our objectives is to reach more, and more diverse, older people every year. To do that, we need to ensure we have a firm understanding of older people’s lives and their experiences with us. We want the things we do to be based on evidence, and to contribute to building a better picture of the lives of older people in the UK. The time that you give to us each month is an important part of achieving our goal. Your contribution will: ensure that we have up-to-date feedback on our programmes and an accurate picture of how our older people or volunteers are feeling; enable us to understand and respond to their needs; allow us to amplify the voices of older people and involve them in the design and development of our programmes; and allow us to speak confidently about the impact of our services.